Tag: natural wine

The cult of natural wine elicits raw emotion among wine lovers, deeply polarising opinion between those who with one broad stroke dismiss the wines labelled as such as flawed by imperfections, and its disciples who evangelise over the vibrancy of such wines, embracing their unpredictability and funkiness as one would an unpasteurised farmhouse cheese. Jean-François Ganevat is an indisputable star of the natural wine movement, whose wines have an unpredictable and exciting wildness that sometimes needs a little taming, whence they become elemental and quite charming.

Sensible haircut and conservative demeanour, Alfredo appears the antithesis of a maverick winemaker, but this self taught winemaker’s ‘natural’ wines tell a different tale. While most Ribera del Duero winemakers are preoccupied with making robust reds from Tinto Fino, he’s sought out neglected parcels of rare old vine varieties, including his ‘Lovamor’ Albillo, a funky and textural, yet refined expression of terroir and winemaker.